Joseph L. Goldstein Biography

Joseph L. Goldstein is an American molecular geneticist who won a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1985. Working along with his long term collaborator and friend, Michael Brown, he discovered that human cells have low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that remove cholesterol from the blood. This discovery led to further research and experimentation which ultimately culminated in the development of statin drugs for controlling cholesterol in humans. Goldstein developed an interest in science while quite young and attended the Washington and Lee University from where he received his BS degree in chemistry, summa cum laude. He proceeded to study medicine and joined Texas University's Southwestern Medical School. After earning his MD he worked in biochemical genetics at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a few years before moving back to the Southwestern Medical Center in 1972. The same year marked the beginning of a very productive collaboration between Goldstein and his colleague Michael Brown that would last more than four decades. The two men performed vital research on cholesterol in the human body and shed new light on the cells receptors’ role in the regulation of cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Goldstein and Brown were honored with several prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, for their invaluable contributions to medical science.